If you’re feeling blue, find yourself a good tune. It might be just the thing to lift your spirits.
What is Music Therapy?
“Simply put, music can heal people” —Senator Harry Reid
Although unconventional, music therapy is rapidly growing in popularity in the field of addiction recovery. As the name suggests, it is the use of music to stimulate a patient’s mind and body to facilitate improvements in their underlying medical conditions.
It has proven beneficial for people struggling with all kinds of issues- psychological, physical, neurological, emotional, and cognitive. People can also use it as an effective tool to reprogram their brains and bring about focus and discipline in daily life.
How does it work?
Music Therapy is helpful for patients ranging from anxiety from medical procedures, anger issues, depression, acute physical pain, psychological trauma from relationships to neurological diseases like Autism, Dementia, Aspergers, etc.
After a diagnosis of the patient by a certified therapist, their strengths and areas of improvement are brought to the surface. These are unique to each human and need to be identified after a thorough analysis and taking into consideration the family’s inputs.
Music may be a universal remedy, but the right match has to be personalized to each person’s unique needs.
Therapists use many instruments (guitar, drums, bass, sound engineering devices, etc) and various exercises such as:
- Playing melodies
- Dancing to different tunes
- Singing to or with the patients
- Composing music
- Discussion of lyrics etc.
This leads to the calming of nerves and enhancement of strengths which will in turn help to manage or cope with shortcomings. Its efficiency has been gauged by dramatic results in the following walks of life:
- Mental Health – For people struggling with acute rage, anxiety, depression, traumas, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), etc., this therapy can be empowering. Extreme emotions are translated into rhythms flowing from the body. It enables people to comprehend and address their emotions and issues better, issues they may have difficulty finding words for. Gradually, it helps them articulate their feelings and thereby forming meaningful bonds with people around them. Research even reflects patients resistant to other treatments being responsive to this mode.
- Medical Treatments – Ever heard popular tracks being played in hospitals? Music is often played in operation theatres and recovery rooms. This helps calm doctors as well as the patients undergoing stressful treatments. Music boosts the patient’s morale which in turn helps in easier recovery. During clinical trials, patients who listened to music experienced less unease and later required lesser amounts of morphine. For patients diagnosed with cancer, music helps reduce the anxiety witnessed during chemo or radioactive therapy. It also curbs nausea and vomiting typically faced after it.
- Neurological Disorders – Music therapy is a big part of the functional augmentation of patients with Autism, Parkinson’s, Asperger’s, Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other disorders within the spectrum. Programs for people in the spectrum are designed mindfully, keeping the focus on various individualized requirements & current level of functionality. When led correctly, the sessions evoke feelings of comfort, familiarity, and belongingness, all of which the patients struggle with in their daily lives and are crucial for their progress. It assists individuals with special needs to develop various social and cognitive skills such as communication, social interactions/cues, forming relationships, exploring emotions of self, identifying emotions of others, developing independence, and additional activities that may not come naturally to them.
- Chronic Pain – Music therapy plays a great role in relaxing one’s nerves and nervousness levels. At the very least, it provides for a welcome distraction from the searing problem. The beats also regulate the breathing of the pained while reassuring them. Then there is also the case of strain-free heart rate, reduced muscle tension, normalized blood pressure which in turn leads to faster healing and less time spent in the hospital. Music therapy doesn’t just direct one’s mood, it also makes people believe in their treatment and recovery.
- Children / Young Adults – Those baby music classes aren’t as ridiculous as they might sound like!
Music is a very motivating tool for developing the mental faculties of infants as it engages various levels of an individual’s mind, body, brain, behavior, etc. One gets to see children experience pure joy while at play. Early music intervention also stimulates good levels of endorphins, hormones closely associated with happiness.
For older kids, the benefits are also prevalent. Music eases the pressure of social interactions, increases feelings of comfort to be oneself, develop communication via verbal and non-verbal ways, build coping mechanisms, adopt positive forms of behavior, engage in self-reflection and self-awareness, etc.
Music enhances the quality of life and facilitates better relationships amongst children as well as them and their family members.
- Family of the distressed – The families, guardians, or friends of the patients also end up bearing emotional or psychological wounds. Their issues also ought to be addressed for the subsequent welfare of the patient.
Occasional sessions conducted by the therapists, addressing the entire family or support group, help ease the suffering of the patient’s loved ones.
This will provide much needed emotional support to families as well as a healthy forum to express all their fears or concerns. It enables the people concerned to act as a team and put up a cohesive front in their battle against the ailment.
And what better way is there, than a good song to unite families?
Common Misconceptions about Music Therapy
As stressed above, this form of therapy is indeed backed by science, training, and results. It is also an expanding field with more and more participants each year.
Also, one does not need to know how to play a musical instrument or have singing skills in order to opt into this therapy. Everyone, skilled or unskilled in music, can participate and benefit from it.
Please note, there isn’t a kind of music more beneficial than the rest. The therapeutic content is designed solely according to the individual’s specific needs and requirements.
Where to Find Classes?
In case you or someone you know are struggling and want to seek help, please visit the website of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), in the following link:
We have also found you an organization- ‘Children’s Music Fund’ which provides free aid for kids facing such issues:
https://www.thecmf.org/music-therapy/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwJzmjtSn6gIVEvDACh0P8gHIEAAYAiAAEgIXK_D_BwE
Conclusion:
It is impossible to find anybody who isn’t passionate about music.
If you are fraught with any issue, or just looking to relieve some stress or need a break from routine, do join the community and discover a new tune to life.
Music is a novel therapeutic exercise, it is completely harmless and embodies endless potential and possibilities. A solution that works for everyone, it could uplift humanity to the next level.
